Any good news?

[shorty943]

Late night news has just finished here. I have just seen the footage of the bridge going down in Minneapolis. That was sudden. How damned lucky, 6 out of 8 lanes were closed for repairs. Still 20 or maybe more still missing.

Hundreds dead in floods in Bangladesh. Again.

Seems like half of Greece is on fire.

And today, while driving some one else's vehicle, I hit a rut, and the entire horn assembly fell into my lap. I'm driving down the road, the dog is barking at the horn, the horn is blowing and won't stop.:laugh:

So, how was your day.

[mikedelaney16]

Seems like half of Greece is on fire.
There too?

I know half the Canary Islands are on fire after some idiot park ranger set fires to try and save his job :confused:

[innocentmonster]

Oh god it never ends!I had a head-ache yesterday and it didn't ends.I took two pill's when I came home from buying grocery's then it didn't stop so before bed I took one more pill and fell asleep and woke up without a head-ache (but I still remember the pain)

[mikedelaney16]

If you want to see something really dumb: Irish Police Hunt Railway Prank Youth (http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1278339,00.html) (Sky News link)
The video mentioned in the article is available at pikey mikey (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_X-02FiLUI) (YouTube link) Clip contains bad language.

Of course, I do have to ask why there appears to be no staff or security at what is obviously a railway station.

[homerette]

This is why I flip by the news. I know enough to not be totally in the dark, but I can't take what passes for news these days. Sad statement to say I watched news more as a kid and teen than as an adult. I guess the good news is we're here to gripe about the bad news!

[Greg]

Maybe the good news is that televisions come with a remote control that lets you turn off the bad news. :D

What we are seeing is the drama phenomenon. In a population of more than six billion people, lots of bad things are happening all the time. The difference is now we have people out searching for bad news to spread around the world.

[mikedelaney16]

It doesn't help that the media don't want to draw a clear line between news, propaganda, information, disinformation, sick entertainment and regular entertainment.

Yes, the TV comes with a remote, but unfortunately I don't live alone, family members come in and talk at me. :rolleyes:

I get most of my news from the internet these days, but while checking stories about real news events, like bridge collapses and mass evacuations in the Canary Islands, it's hard to avoid the other stuff too.

[innocentmonster]

I heard and am watching the news that there is a company is sending people to inspect bridges but don't have a license or know what they are doing.How do I like that?I am MAD!
And a prisoner escapes jail.

[shorty943]

Exactly the same myself these days Mike. I must have just about every TV\internet news network bookmarked somewhere. Even ones in languages I haven't got a clue about. But, I do see a different view, of the same news items.
The big boys on the block here, are the Murdock and the Packer empires.
I'd like a second, third or even more opinions, if you don't mind.

The main thing I see, is that universally plentiful stupidity.

Ah, visitors have just swung into the drive. See ya!

[Miros1]

<snip>And a prisoner escapes jail.

Lol, I worked at a mall that was evacuated one day -- because a prisoner being transported jumped out of a deputy sheriff's car while stopped at a traffic light.

The prisoner ran into the mall because he had a relative who worked in the mall. This relative helped him remove the manacles (and I assume change clothes, those orange jumpsuits are quite eye catching) and he moved on to parts unknown.

A short time later, people came into the store where I worked talking about this escaped convict. Then word comes down from mall management that we're evacuating. I called the mall office and they said "fire emergency," so we all left. While standing around outside, we got the rest of the story!

[Greg]

Hmmm... considering that there are a fantastically high number of bridges in the world, it doesn't surprise me at all that some muck-raking reporter on your faithful Ayeverbless News variety show found an incident where there was a bridge inspector who didn't have the official license hanging on his wall. It's another example of how the news is no longer about news; it's just about the weird, the bizarre, the fringe.

I was snooping around, trying to find out how many bridges there on in the world, just to get a sense of the scale of the question. Pittsburgh says it is offically the city with the most bridges in the world, with 446 bridges (http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/9841603/detail.html). On the other hand, New York City claims to have 2,027 bridges (http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/about/faqs_bridge.html).

Consider: Large cities have hundreds or thousands of bridges. This almost intelligible essay (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/muscities.html) says that there are 19,355 cities in the United States if you have to include Pittsburgh. (So what's this thing with Pittsburgh?)

Just wild-guessing that the average city has about 100 bridges, that means there are about 2 million bridges in the cities of the United States. (That wouldn't include unincorporated rural areas.) It might be a million; might be ten million; but at least we have know that the number is hugely huge.

So, if you were a lazy, sensationalistic reporter looking for an opportunity to do some hate-mongering instead of having to find some real news to report, what are the chances that you would fail in your quest to find some kind of anomaly regarding the inspection of bridges?

Nope, it's nothing to get excited about.

In fact, the incredibly good news is that the reporter found only one incident, out of what must be hundreds of thousands of bridge inspectors in just the USA; and don't forget that the USA is only 5% of the total world's population.

Consider: Out of those umpty million bridges in the United States, how many have collapsed in the past year? In the last decade? In the last century? Bridge failures are momentous events in engineering history, but the number of notable bridge failures is at most in the dozens, definitely not in the hundreds. Dozens, out of millions of bridges; no doubt tens of millions in the world as a whole.

[Miros1]

A bridge doesn't have to fail catastrophically to be dangerous. There are two bridges in Buffalo that periodically drop chunks of concrete onto the road below. They currently have nets hanging below them to catch anything that falls and are scheduled for replacement.

There are also other problems than bridges -- bridges are just the most spectacular. Every city in the US has outdated or overloaded water, sewage, electrical service, phone lines, etc. Unfortunately, when the budget crunch comes, "infrastructure maintenance and repair" is very easy to cut since it's not crucial and can be taken care of "next year," but "next year" never comes. Suddenly, people have sewage backing up into their basements every rainstorm, and you've got an acute problem that's probably more severe than it would have been if the system had been better maintained.

[mikedelaney16]

Remember that "structurally deficient" does not mean "considered dangerous", it just means it no longer has enough excess load bearing capacity.

I'll be very interested in the NTSB report, and I'm curious whether this being a post war bridge might have any bearing on what happened. We just don't over engineer the way we did prewar.

[Zenmistress]

Pittsburgh is called the City of Bridges
http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/pictures/l/bl_bridge_1.htm

There are 3 bridges within 20 miles of me that have already been slated for investigation because they are of similar design to the MN bridge. One of them, in my hometown, that I've crossed, literally, thousands and thousands of times.

[Miros1]

Yep, Buffalo has 3 that will be investigated too. These aren't the ones that drop concrete chunks onto the road below.

[mikedelaney16]

Odd as this may seem, the ones that drop chunks may actually be quite safe to be on, just not under.

[Greg]

A bridge doesn't have to fail catastrophically to be dangerous. There are two bridges in Buffalo that periodically drop chunks of concrete onto the road below. They currently have nets hanging below them to catch anything that falls and are scheduled for replacement.

There are also other problems than bridges -- bridges are just the most spectacular. Every city in the US has outdated or overloaded water, sewage, electrical service, phone lines, etc. Unfortunately, when the budget crunch comes, "infrastructure maintenance and repair" is very easy to cut since it's not crucial and can be taken care of "next year," but "next year" never comes. Suddenly, people have sewage backing up into their basements every rainstorm, and you've got an acute problem that's probably more severe than it would have been if the system had been better maintained.

You have a good point there, Rose. Bridges and roads and stuff don't buy votes until they fail. That's a weakness of democracy, but I sure don't have any better ideas.

[Miros1]

Odd as this may seem, the ones that drop chunks may actually be quite safe to be on, just not under.

At least one of them isn't. The expansion joints at one end are frozen so all movement happens at the other. It's a real possibility that the bridge could contract enough to pull right off the support.

[mikedelaney16]

With that one, the words "scheduled for replacement" are tantamount to "criminal negligence". If it's in that state it should be closed and fixed, or closed and demolished. Immediately.

But of course the ensuing traffic problems might cause certain politicians to lose some votes.

[Miros1]

They're waiting til next summer. Hopefully, the thing won't come down completely over the winter, when the worst contraction happens.

[Greg]

Reference discussion above about our overly sensationalistic news media. At least statistically, the odds are 99.99999% that the engineers and bridge inspectors know what they're doing.

[Miros1]

Reference discussion of stupid politicians who don't allocate money in a timely manner.

[Greg]

Hey, not everybody lives in New York or Louisiana! :lol:

[mikedelaney16]

When the engineers say "you need to replace it" the politicians and administrators need to "replace it" not "schedule it".

Greg, what would you understand "structurally deficient" to mean?

[Greg]

When the engineers say "you need to replace it" the politicians and administrators need to "replace it" not "schedule it".

Greg, what would you understand "structurally deficient" to mean?

Honestly, in this context, the phrase means nothing at all to me. I haven't seen the engineers' report.

I do know that a dozen bridge failures out of millions of bridges, and the lack of tales of bridge failures happening all over New York, strongly indicates an extremely high probability that people are acting responsibly in the case of the one bridge that Rose is talking about. Media hype; it's the watchword of the 21st century.

[Miros1]

"The 70-year-old structure, not unlike others, is going to cost millions to replace."

http://www.wivb.com/Global/story.asp?s=6885429

This is the bridge they're going to replace in 2009 (not next summer like I'd heard). Hope we have a series of warm winters!

Another story on the same bridge: http://www.wivb.com/Global/story.asp?s=6860850 One person says it's fine, one says it's dangerous. Either way, I don't think I'd want to be on a bridge that "just drops a couple inches."

And that bridge was originally in the news in May, long before this week's excitement.

[Greg]

Well...

Erie County Director of Engineering Charles Sickler says the Cemetery Road Bridge in Lancaster is OK until 2009, based on reports from the engineering audit performed by Clough Harbour Engineering.

Erie County Legislator Kathy Konst says she doesn't want to wait until 2009 to replace the bridge, based on... erm... whatever she based it on.

One the one side, an engineer who is an expert on the subject and has his professional reputation on the line.

On the other, an incumbent politician who wants to rouse the rabble and attract money to the fifth district to buy votes with, while setting herself up to play the blame strategy when her proposal fails, and who just happens to needs to keep her name in the news because she is facing an uphill battle against a serious challenger (Tom Ulbrecht) in the upcoming elections.

In the middle, Investigative Reporter Luke Moretti whose job it is to boost ratings through making the "news" sensational and entertaining by creating controversy where none really exists.

:thinking:


Conclusion: Grilled Cheese Will Save Us All! :grilledcheese:

[Miros1]

There's also an engineering professor in one article, who says it's not safe.

Actually, there's a very good reason to push for state and federal money now. There's just been a "disaster," so Congress is more likely to allocate money right now, especially since the President made a big splashy speech with all kinds of promises. By 2009, getting money out of the feds is gonna be like pulling teeth!

[mikedelaney16]

Heh, did he say it's not safe or was he quoted as saying it's not safe?

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I have the twisted mind of a former broadcaster. Ratings and advertisers rule, or at least they used to. Can't even be sure of that anymore.

[shorty943]

Don't panic.

I've got an old science experiment in the fridge.

I only need a couple of million kilowatts for a nanosecond or so, to test a new anti corrosion anodised "Grilled Cheese" coating, and all the worlds bridges are mine muwahaahaa.:laugh:

[Greg]

... I have the twisted mind of a former broadcaster...

Oh, Mike! My condolences! I'm so sorry to hear that! :lol:

[shorty943]

Unfortunately, as an engineer it has been my experience, the boardroom takes more notice of the accounts office, than we technical types.
Along the lines of " How much? Isn't there a cheaper way? The shareholders, the shareholders, think of the shareholders".

Chin up Mike, that is all behind you now. There is a glorious freedom, away from the evil of the advertising executive.:laugh:

On a happier note.
I just watched the latest launch of the shuttle.

You go fly you beautiful big white bird.:salute:

[Zenmistress]

On a happier note.
I just watched the latest launch of the shuttle.

You go fly you beautiful big white bird.:salute:


I crossed my fingers while I watched! It looked beautiful!!
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/Zenmistress/Image1.gif

[shorty943]

Didn't it?
Ever since I first saw Sputnik fly overhead, during the 1950's as a kid, I have followed NASA, and what they are doing. It fascinates and awes me.

[mikedelaney16]

Chin up Mike, that is all behind you now. There is a glorious freedom, away from the evil of the advertising executive.:laugh:
Gosh, that sounds a lot like what myself and some former colleagues said.

On a happier note.
I just watched the latest launch of the shuttle.

You go fly you beautiful big white bird.:salute:
Yes, it looked like a hitch free launch on TV. My thoughts and best wishes are with the crew of STS-118 and ISS Expedition 15.

[shorty943]

From Mike.

"Gosh, that sounds a lot like what myself and some former colleagues said".


Ahah, it seems I was not alone in my thinking after all. Never did entirely trust someone, who seems to know more about what I want, than I do.

[mikedelaney16]

For those with no inside knowledge of radio, this guy explains one of the worst aspects really well: http://www.kieranmurray.com/playlists.htm

The link at the bottom is well worth clicking on as he goes into more details.

[shorty943]

Gasp, you mean they didn't fix the "Payola" thing at all?

Oh my, that will piss Chickenman right off.

And Jimmy Hoffa is still alive and well driving a Kenworth right?

[mikedelaney16]

Gasp, you mean they didn't fix the "Payola" thing at all?
MikeD wipes the coffee splatter from his screen.
Just reconfigured :laugh:

Oh my, that will piss Chickenman right off.
I'm not familiar with Chickenman.

And Jimmy Hoffa is still alive and well driving a Kenworth right?
There probably is a Jimmy Hoffa alive and well and driving a Kenworth.:)

[Greg]

Naw, Jimmy Hoffa changed his name to Millard Wilstein and opened a grilled cheese sandwich shop in the Bronx.

[shorty943]

WOT!

You don't know the White Winged Warrior? No, this is not acceptable. This I must remedy.

It was a stupid morning radio sketch on almost every radio station in Australia for, hell, it must have been 30 years.
A ridiculous "Batman" type farce.

(In the dulcet tones of the classic radio voice over man)

Well, what will Chickenman do now? What will the Commissioner think? Will Miss Hennypenny ever tell Chickenman how she feels?
Tune in tomorrow when Chickenman says.......

[Miros1]

The frozen rocker bearings have been red flagged (fix immediately) and yellow flagged (fix quickly). Fortunately for the county, they're on the end of the bridge maintained by the railroad, so it's on the railroad's nickel.

[Greg]

:laugh: *blink* The railroad maintains one end of the bridge and the county maintains the other? :laugh:

[Miros1]

Apparently. Sounds weird to me.

The fun thing is they're talking federal gas tax to pay for bridge repairs... so every dinky town with a bridge of any sort is gonna be begging for money, even though their citizens use the near-by bridges in larger communities.

I had another thought on the subject, but the oven just beeped.

[shorty943]

:laugh: *blink* The railroad maintains one end of the bridge and the county maintains the other? :laugh:

What's so odd?

Here in Australia, we have sections of local roads, about 100 metres or yards long, in a hiatus between council districts. (County?) Along the lines of.

A) "It's your bit of road".

B) "No it's not, it's your bit of road".

A) "No it's not".

B) "Yes it is". Ad Nausium.

Now, I ask you, Why can't I just shoot them both, and employ a local council that will just do what they are paid to do?
Or, is that idea just too old fashioned.


Edit.

Add to that, every railroad crossing in the country, is on "sacred" railways ground. The local council? Oh no, you don't know about railways, you don't touch.
The result? A nation of "unlevel crossings".

[Miros1]

Ah, but do you have bridges with dead rocker bearings on the railroad end which might pull the other end off the road level supports and drop it onto the supports underneath?

Here, they make the railroads fix the crossings so they're smooth if not level.

[shorty943]

Ah, but do you have bridges with dead rocker bearings on the railroad end which might pull the other end off the road level supports and drop it onto the supports underneath?

Here, they make the railroads fix the crossings so they're smooth if not level.


Put it this way.

I'll swim the river.

I don't catch trains.

And, there ain't no such thing, in the entire universe as a, smooth, level, railroad crossing.
I just can't believe it. Nope, it don't exist.:)


On another note.
And at this very moment, I am watching a documentary titled "Hoovers Gold". By, Mago Productions. Interesting.

The story of your 31st president, Herbert Hoover. It takes off in the now long dead West Australian mining town of Gwalia. The company, Gwalia Gold. He was Inspector General of the West Aussie gold mines. The very mines that re-wrote the world standard for gold purity.

Better than the movie a couple of weeks ago titled "The Pirates of Silicon Valley".
That portrayed Mrs Gates little boy, Bill, in a pretty poor light. Mind you, the rest of that mob didn't come out shiny and nice either.:zipped:

Other Americans who made a mark here. The Chaffey brothers came from California, to help set up our inland irrigation systems, 1880's or 1890's. They tried to institute some stupid, dry company town, no pub puritan policy.:laugh: They went back to sunny California, somewhat disillusioned.
Idiots.:laugh: The only place in the world that drinks more beer than Australia is Germany. And that is only because there are more of them than us.
But, we are working on that.

And a rabble rouser, name of Lawton. Came out from California during our gold rush.
Caused all sorts of trouble with his gun happy ways. Nasty business, the "Eureka Stockade" became.

[Miros1]

<snip>And, there ain't no such thing, in the entire universe as a, smooth, level, railroad crossing.
I just can't believe it. Nope, it don't exist.:) <snip>

Believe it or not, there is!

Crossings on major (for here) highways get high tech materials between the rails and down the sides. Those you can drive across at 30 and never know you crossed them. Most of these were built at ground level, probably due to building density not allowing the extra room for an embankment (and at one point, trains had to stop every block or so to unload cargo).

Side streets get paved between the rails. They count as smooth, but may or may not be elevated on an embankment (level). You know they're there, but they won't destroy your suspension unless you're going far too fast. They do this for a reasonable distance out into the boondocks.

Once you get into the boondocks, the highways get the paving between the rails and private roads (ones owned by the one-to-five families living on them) are what you probably think of as a "nice" crossing... low embankment, exposed rails, etc.

[Miros1]

Oh, in Pennsylvania, be prepared for a giant pothole when you pull off the Turnpike. You'll see this sign: Turnpike Maintenance Ends. Then your front wheels vanish from all human knowledge...

[Greg]

I was previously unaware that Herbert Hoover had an interest in an Australian gold mine! I thought he just built dams and stuff. :lol:

If Chaffey brothers had come later I would have guessed that they were somehow a product of the Prohibition era. They might have been Quakers. There's a dry town just down the round from here named Friendswood. It was founded by Quakers and is now actually a rather sizeable city, one of the mid-scale NASA bedroom communities. There's not a single bar or liquor store within the city limits.

What was the Eureka Stockade about? :thinking:

[shorty943]

Oh, in Pennsylvania, be prepared for a giant pothole when you pull off the Turnpike. You'll see this sign: Turnpike Maintenance Ends. Then your front wheels vanish from all human knowledge...

That's it. That's the same repair technique they use here. We can loose a whole Mack truck for over a week. Well sort off. We also have a massive network of dirt country roads, raised railway embankments, and some of the worlds highest unlevel crossings. There is one, only a mile from me. I drive an old model Land Rover, and the rail embankment and crossing are over the Landy's roof height. At night it is fun.

You approach, your lights point at the moon, then you just drop over the other side, into pitch black, like some crazy roller coaster ride.
Mind you, that is at our open road speed limit of 70 MPH.
Crazy roller coaster ride.:laugh: :blob7: :laugh: "do it again, do it again", is the cry from the kids in the back.


Greg.
Hoover, was the man responsible for the massive efficiency of the Aussie mines.
Strange, for a company man, he is very well remembered here.

Note. President Hoovers, fancy ceremonial Presidential Wreath, is the only one ever to have left the USA, it has pride of place in the West Australian Parliamentary Musseum, he allowed the Australian flag to fly below the US flag at his inauguration ceremony, I think that is the only time any other nations flag has ever had that honour.

The Chaffey brothers? Damn your good. Quakers they were indeed my friend.

[Greg]

Aha! So that's what the open road speed limit it! When I was Down Under in 1985, I read all the Rules of the Road but couldn't find anything or anyone who knew what the speed limit was. We were driving around in a little Austin America and getting passed up by those big ol' British Leyland road hogs, but hey, I was peddling as fast as I could!

Golly, I knew there was something I liked about Herbert Hoover besides him being the model for the guy on the Monopoly box.

[shorty943]

Aha! So that's what the open road speed limit it! When I was Down Under in 1985, I read all the Rules of the Road but couldn't find anything or anyone who knew what the speed limit was. We were driving around in a little Austin America and getting passed up by those big ol' British Leyland road hogs, but hey, I was peddling as fast as I could!

Golly, I knew there was something I liked about Herbert Hoover besides him being the model for the guy on the Monopoly box.

Mate, these speed limits have only been in force for a few years, figuratively speaking.
The Northern Territory has only this year, introduced open road speed limits. There was, litterally, no limit to the speed you could drive at, once past the little no more speed limit sign.
As for the thousands of miles of private, farm roads.
They're private roads. What road rules?

Mr. Hoover. A man I've learned to admire.
He was also instrumental in the relief effort, to help those so disastrously affected by WW1. The Hoover Dam was named in his honour. I don't recall him doing the design work, "doco" on that not long ago as well. I didn't take well to the engineer who lead that project.
But, Herbert Hoover was truly, a very special sort of man.

Jack Kennedy as well. A Navy man, what do you expect.:laugh:
Surprisingly, it was hearing JFK's inauguration speech, on TV here as a school kid, that did a lot to inspire me to serve my country and people. That and it is hereditary (again), every generation of my family have served, my own youngest boy was an Army Medic.
That is a big job. Those few, hold their brother in their arms in the worst time of their life.
That takes one hell of a big heart. Damn, now I'm misty. Little bit proud of baby boy.

[Greg]

I think they named the dam after him because he was president of the US at the time and got the congress to go along with funding it. Franklin Roosevelt tried to rename it Boulder Dam, but nobody was buyin' it.

Yup, JFK really had a flair for delivering speeches and really great speech writers to back him up.

Amusement: Most of JFK's speeches don't get quoted these days. It just would not be politically correct to see St. John pounding the pulpit and yelling, "There are too many communists in the State Department!" :lol:

[shorty943]

JFK, Commanding Officer, USN Patrol Boat 109. Based our side of the creek WW2. Ran down, cut in half and sunk by Jap Destroyer in the New Guinea area. Spent 18 1\2 hours with his trouser belt around a crewman's chest, belt held between his teeth. JFK, towed that man to safety and never lost a single man of his crew.

JFK was a man. Movie made, William Holden? played JFK, PT109. Actually quite a good movie.

The Eureka Stockade was a miners strike and rebellion, over mining rights and permits.
Ballarat, Victoria. 1854 Aussie Gold Rush.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Stockade

Not a very pleasant part of our history. Full cavalry charges by mounted police against unarmed miners who had blockaded themselves in protest, at the governments intolerance and extortive permit system for gold mining. Lots of men killed for no damned result or reason.

[Miros1]

Dang, an Aussie who's read "PT109"?

When I was in junior high, that was required reading. Guess Greg's just a little too old...

[shorty943]

There's a book?

I learned about it in Naval History.
Not school, Naval recruit school, something to keep in mind, remember the help we got during a very hard time in our recent history.

Did you know?
The Japanese attacked Australia 95 times in 3 years in an attempt to get in.
Most Australians don't even know that.

They failed. Miserably. The Japanese I mean.

[Miros1]

Actually, it's a short piece. Not sure what it's called, since it's non-fiction (or a fictionalized account of a historical event).

I think I read it 3 times in different classes from 6th grade up.

[shorty943]

Being part of American history, one would presume it would be taught in school.

And not as fictionalized as one may think. He was a bit of a "lad" was JFK.:weg-devil:

I personally like to think, the TV show McHale's Navy was at least in part, based on the time he spent over here.

He's the type of "bloke" who would have been right at home here.
Fun loving, cheeky larrikin, solid and dependable all the same.

[Miros1]

For those of you who didn't go to school in Australia or NY state: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/JFK+in+History/John+F.+Kennedy+and+PT109.htm

[Greg]

:laugh:

It really doesn't surprise me that a New York junior high school would have a political tract that glorifies a rich aristocrat on its required reading list.

[Miros1]

As opposed to schools in Texas which probably require students to read about the glorious actions of George H.W. Bush in WWII?

The piece wasn't at all political, btw. More like your basic action/adventure plot. It got written and published because the commander just happened to be John Fitzgerald Kennedy, otherwise it very well could have been PT-162 (one of the other ships involved in the same battle).

[Greg]

Nope. No political tracts in Texas schools.

[shorty943]

Huh?

Schools here are the most politically correct minefields around.
To an old fashion person such as myself, the modern education ideas here are a disaster.

People are mistakenly believing the US constitution, has weight here.
Your 1st amendment regarding civil rights has no equivalent in our constitution.
Our's sets out duty and obligation, and the benefits and entitlements that brings.

Are they politically correct? Or are they actually, way out of line?


Sorry, I am a bit miffed this morning.
Picture the scene. An invalid pensioner ex-serviceman, (me) loans a sum of money to some one. Now at the agreed maturity time they are claiming hard times and attempting to duck re-payment. Leaving me penniless.
Worse still I, in my old fashioned chivalrous way, now feel like Dick Dastardly, yep, it is a widow trying to use some emotive way to duck out on honour and integrity.

Any advice for a distraught penniless pensioner?

[Miros1]

Tell her you'll extend the loan, but the extra interest has to be paid in apple pie. This is an extention not a forgiveness, so she's gotta pay you back eventually!

[Greg]

That's a rough situation to be in! I can sympathize with both sides of it, except for the implication that the debtor is trying to get out of repaying the debt. Darn. It's a little late to suggest not lending money that you can't afford to give away, because someone who needs to borrow money now because of hard times is likely to still be suffering from hard times when the note comes due.

I can't think of a good way to tell a friend that she ought to have the personal honor to at least intend to repay the debt even if she doesn't have the money now. Maybe the best approach is to remind her of the facts; that you were depending on her promise to repay the debt for your own livelihood. Turn the sympathy ploy around on itself.

[shorty943]

I wish I could, I truly do, but I desperately need that several thousand dollars back.
Big problem is, I am in dire straights right now because of this.
Person concerned know this very well.
Odd, I was informed, by her, of a personal loan she had taken out, to repay others. No reassuring news for me though.


Bah, this has happened too many times to me now.
Just as well my Matilda is interstate at the moment. Yes, I own a WW2 Matilda Battle Tank.
Time for the man in the white linen suit I believe. Mr. Nice Guy, you stay home.

[Greg]

Yeah, it does sound like the classic situation where Mr. Nice Guy is being taken advantage of. Been there.

[shorty943]

Well, stern reminders of honour and obligation have had some effect.

I at least have been given a vehicle, for the use off. And, there was a solemn promise of urgent action re taking out a loan to repay the debt.

Now we play the game I learned many years ago in Navy recruit school.

It's called "Hurry up and wait".

[Greg]

Oh! Just like trying to find a job! :lol:

[shorty943]

How is that going, mate?

[Greg]

Not good. About an hour ago I found out that organizational politics are blocking me from being hired for the job I most wanted to do, best qualified for, and where the hiring manager and everyone in his organization really, really wanted me on board. :zipped:

On the other hand, just yesterday I got a call telling me that I am being considered for a job that's even better! :D :D :D

Darn, I want to get off this rollercoaster and get to work on the Constellation program, and I hope I can do that before I'm totally bankrupt.

[shorty943]

By all that is almost holy, we must report this injustice to the Goddess.

Wait a minute, a better job than Constellation? Go for power up on that?
Who needs to be intimidated, threatened, bribed into action?

It can be a bummer, when the thing you want, is not quite in reach yet. Or worse still, is that one singular person who puts a spanner in the works. It's happened to me more than once, purely one persons personal dislike, sorry fella we can't employ you because, blah blah blah.
Good luck Greg, if good wishes for others do any good, I'll think you into the position you want.

Due to circumstances I am trying to regain control of.
Now, I am driving a GM product. They don't feel like Ford. See Shorty shudder. It feels very remote, very insulated from the road, and it is very capable of speed too far in excess of the limit for safe driving. For the inexperienced.
I almost had to over run and turn about to take my turn off for home Thursday night. Engine smooth like baby butt, no road noise inside the vehicle. My turn off loomed in the headlights, backed off the throttle started to brake, glanced at Speedo, and pushed much harder on the brake pedal. I was nonchalantly zooming along, at over 100 MPH with out even realizing it. Stupid, stupid GM, you do not build and sell a vehicle like that to the ordinary barely competent public. I am a former national championship motor racer, not inexperienced, and that stock standard family station wagon is just too fast for the ordinary.

[Miros1]

Secondary, once the new wears off, it will start to rattle and such and you'll know how fast you're going all the time.

I know people who've talked their way out of speeding tickets by saying it's a new car, I'm not used to it yet!

[Greg]

Yup, if I get the other job I'll still be working on the Constellation program, but directly on the development of the flight hardware for the Orion spacecraft. For me, it's hard to imagine anything better than that! :D

[mikedelaney16]

Yup, if I get the other job I'll still be working on the Constellation program, but directly on the development of the flight hardware for the Orion spacecraft. For me, it's hard to imagine anything better than that! :D
May the best Greg win :D

Gee you guys have been jabbering a lot while I was in London.

[shorty943]

Secondary, once the new wears off, it will start to rattle and such and you'll know how fast you're going all the time.

I know people who've talked their way out of speeding tickets by saying it's a new car, I'm not used to it yet!


It is not a new vehicle, about 3 or 4 years old. Fuel injected 3.8 litre V6, 4 speed auto gearbox, a loan car, to keep me mobile until the debt is repaid. But it is the newest vehicle I have driven. Not all that impressed with it. But, it is only a temporary loaner.

My whole hearted agreement with Mike, ( G-day mate, good to see your name in post again). May the best Greg win the day. If my amoral support helps, you got it.:)

Londinium? Last time I was there, it was "Her Maj's" silver jubilee.
Hell, I am getting older aren't I.

[mikedelaney16]

Londinium? Last time I was there, it was "Her Maj's" silver jubilee.
Hell, I am getting older aren't I.
Well, they still don't have air conditioning in most of the buildings there. And when it gets humid it's like you just walked out of the shower and can't get dry.

I'll examine a couple of different routes before my next visit. Home - Dublin - Stansted - Liverpool Street - Kensington is a bit time consuming at 8 hours and involves a lot of lugging of bags (about 4 hours). For what it's worth, flight time is about 50 minutes. Security time 2 hours. Baggage reclaim 1 hour. Airline Ryanair, aircraft 737-800. Between the 4 different London airports and the 4 different (allegedly competing) carriers, there are about 25 - 30 flights per day to choose from.

England has had an appallingly bad summer, they've pretty much lost their harvest, Ireland faired a bit better but wont have much of a surplus for export. In both countries next years harvest wont be good even if we get a dry winter and good summer as the ground will take about a year to dry out.

We haven't had decent potatoes since I returned from the US in 2003. This worries my family, especially my mom, far more than it worries me. I'm actually happier with pasta or rice.

You can tell how bad it's been when you travel through the English countryside by train, the normally manicured railway banks are all overgrown. It rained so hard on Wednesday evening that I thought we might need to break out some RIBs. Especially since we were only about 100ft from the Thames.

[shorty943]

Mike, it seems to me, the faster the world tries to travel, the longer it takes to get anywhere.

When it comes to the world weather, I give up. The US is either drowning or frying, England, most of Europe is the same. Here in Australia, we have just been through about 7 years of well below average rainfall, a lot of the country is still in drought. In my locality, the Mallee country of South Australia, it started raining on April 25th, we thought, you little beauty, the drought has broken. Bah humbug, it hasn't rained properly for over a month now, and all the ground is bone dry again. It is mid-winter here now, and we are getting small localised dust storms. No cloud cover, freezing cold nights and fogs and frost in the mornings, but no rain. We are a cereal growing region, not so good for our economy either.
It is just as well we are the leaders in dry land farming techniques. Other wise we would struggle for a piece of toast for breakfast.
I am surprised at an Irishman not much into taters, but, I have the same sentiments there.
BTW, about 5 or 6 generations ago, I have Irish Catholic convict descendence. I think that sounds right. Great granny O'Riley, dear old chook she was.

And now on a less happy subject.
The news from the Utah Coal mine is very sad. News last night is that the rescue effort has had to be abandoned because the mine collapsed again and killed three of the rescue team.
My heart goes to those affected. God loves those who perish trying to save others.

[mikedelaney16]

I am surprised at an Irishman not much into taters, but, I have the same sentiments there.
Inability to get decent potatoes since my grandmother stopped growing them in the back yard in the 70s probably has a lot to do with that. And then there's the years I spent in the US and my general travels. I'm one of those people who will try most local foods at least once. I do draw the line at some other very un-anglo foods. But then I've never been in an eat it or die situation.

[shorty943]

That'll do it. I'm a fresh food nut myself. With plenty of space on the farm, we grow most of our own everything. And I like to experiment as well. I play with trees. Place 2 or 3 related species in the one hole, intertwine the trunks, and watch the most colourful fruit trees grow.
Three or four types of plum on the one apparent tree. Same with apples and pears, on the one tree, grapefruit and limes and lemons and oranges all mixed up together. It's fun.

I spent my youth in the Navy, I know about trying out unusual foods. Most I really liked. To the extent that my normal diet is very international. TexMex, Thai, Indian, Scandinavian, all on the plate at the same time. YUM. I like food.

[mikedelaney16]

We don't have much space for growing stuff in this house, and I'm not good with plants anyway.

Why didn't I think of that intertwining trees trick?

I've never had an opportunity to knowingly try Scandinavian food. But Mexican, Indian, Thai, some Chinese (haven't had the chance to sample from each province), Japanese, middle eastern, Greek, Italian, Caribbean, French and Anglo-American are all acceptable at some level. It's a bit difficult to get some of that in Ireland though, especially Greek, Caribbean and good Italian.

Apart from potatoes my grandmother used to keep a vegetable patch, lots of fresh lettuce, cabbage, spinach, herbs, tomatoes and rhubarb. She could be fairly adventurous about food, probably came from working in rich people's kitchens back before WWI, that and growing up on a farm maybe.

There are some things I will not knowingly eat for moral or safety reasons. So I wont be trying shark fin soup or birds nest soup.

[shorty943]

Fruit trees will happily grow in nice large tubs, and you can still put at least two to a large pot.
After that just graft on other types of the same family. Apple and pear graft together. All citrus will graft together. All plums graft to each other. Pick a south facing wall (for the northern hemisphere), and espalier, in the French way. Grow and train your fruit trees along a trellise system up the house or shed walls. You end up with four or five trees, and possibly hundreds of different fruit types.
You do need two of most basic types, for pollination. Two apple trees, with Duchess pears, Fuji apples, Granny Smith's, Roman Beauty's, Golden Delicious, and any other you may ever want. All on just two trees.
The same with plums, Green Gage, Coes Golden Drop, Satsuma, Christmas Plum, Cherry Plum, all mixed up in what appears to be one tree, but is in fact the two needed for cross pollination and fruiting.
The most impressive home garden I have ever seen had 127 different types of apple on just 12 trees.
If you get on well with the folks next door, rip out the fence and build a new one out of a fruit tree hedge. Hours of fun for the kids.
When it comes to the veggie patch, I do it mother nature's way. Lots of mulch, as little tilling and digging as possible, and everything in a riot all over the show. NO, formal plots of this and that. Just throw a big bunch of mixed up seeds all over the place, mulch down and water. That way the garden is always a surprise lucky dip of nice healthy organic goodies.
I've built great big mounds out of old tractor truck and car tyres, filled with dirt and mulch, then planted all sorts of crazy things mixed up together, stuck a circular sprinkler on top and waited to see what happens.

Gardening is fun.

[Greg]

Oh! Mystery gardening! It sounds like fun!

"What kind of seed is this?"

"I dunno. Let's plant it and see what we get!" :lol:

[shorty943]

Yep. Only your second line should read, " I dunno either. etc".

And it is, tomato, corn, strawberry, cabbage, taragon, lavender, peppers, it doesn't matter.
Silver beet, radish, persimmon, chives, all tangled together.
Plant them like mother nature does, they'll grow, they don't care about regimental neatness and such. They only grow and fruit and die and grow and fruit again.

Go out to the jungle grab a couple of handfuls of what ever ends up in your fist.
And stir fry it. Or just rip it up and pour a vinaigrette over it.

[Miros1]

The US is either drowning or frying,

Actually, since the heat broke, it's pretty nice here. Can't leave the door open all night, but the days are just about perfect!

[Greg]

There might be an argument in favor of mixing up the crops. It makes it more difficult for pests to run amok.

[mikedelaney16]

Hmm

Eerie similarities between British Airtours Flight 28M (1985) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_air_disaster) and China Airlines Flight 120 (2007) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_120).

Don't take that to mean I'm pointing the finger at the aircraft manufacturer, I'm not.

[mikedelaney16]

There might be an argument in favor of mixing up the crops. It makes it more difficult for pests to run amok.
Useful for a self sufficiency farmer, perhaps not so useful for a commercial farmer, unless the public can be educated into buying vegetable luckybags.

[Miros1]

Hmm

Eerie similarities between British Airtours Flight 28M (1985) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_air_disaster) and China Airlines Flight 120 (2007) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_120).

Don't take that to mean I'm pointing the finger at the aircraft manufacturer, I'm not.

Shouldn't this be in Things That Make You Go Huh?

Darn good thing everyone got out in time tho! Clearly, engine fires are nothing to mess with.

[shorty943]

Useful for a self sufficiency farmer, perhaps not so useful for a commercial farmer, unless the public can be educated into buying vegetable luckybags.


Too true. But, at home, you can be sure your food is really organic and chemical free.
The taste is so full, it's so easy to do, it's fun for the whole family.
And you are spot on, Greg. That is one of the principals of companion planting. Certain plants thrive in each others company and help each other by repelling each others pests.
Plant all your garlic and chives for the kitchen around your roses, no more aphids, and beautiful blooms. Peas and corn go in the pot and the plot together. Tomatoes with out basil is a mortal sin. Never eat tomatoes with out basil, never grow tomatoes with out basil. Always together like twins.

Try this for an unusual taste sensation.
Grab a handful of nice sweet cherry tomatoes, halve them sprinkle with a little dark or raw sugar and cream. Tomatoes are actually the fruit of a vine plant.

In the last couple of days.

I have been busy, with an 8 ton motor omnibus in the last 2 days. Very sleepy last night.
But, the heavy work of cutting the roof off, lifting it up 12 inches, fabricating the new support columns and then re-welding it all together. Done. We started Sunday, walked out of the work shop at just before 5.00 pm, 2 1\2 hours ago. Now comes the frou-frou. The fit out as a mobile kitchen for the up coming harvest.
An MAN tour coach, 36 feet long, chopped, cut and shut, like a hot rod shop, 2 days, just like that.:) Started re-skinning this afternoon.:p Weary again now.

Some thing something "China Airlines"?
Lock on, fire at will. Shoot them down and shut them down. Period.
They have the rather dubious honour?, of having the worst maintenance and safety record in the world.
Bring them down and keep them down. Shut down China Airlines.
They are frightening, far too many accidents and incidents. I was a sport pilot, in a younger life. I don't hold my liscence now, I don't think CA should either.

Ummm, That's it, I just confused myself, need caffeine.:p

[mikedelaney16]

Depending on the findings of the investigation, they may get grounded. Or failing that, Boeing and Airbus may refuse to let them fly their aircraft. There's no way of knowing the cause yet, but it does look eerily similar to the incident in Manchester 22 years ago, so there may be criminal negligence involved. Of course it could turn out to have been caused by some hitherto unknown fault, but I don't think that's likely.

I also have to ask questions about Okinawa airport and how an aircraft with a fire wasn't spotted and evacuated long before it got to the terminal.

Miros1, I figured this topic slotted right into a thread about collapsing bridges, burning islands, etc. I thought the "Things that make you go Huh?" thread was more about Sims2 stuff :)

[Miros1]

Lol, yeah, I forgot what the first post in this thread was... I did intend the Huh? thread as Sims2 stuff, but that promptly got hijacked!

[Greg]

Sims, schmims, I wanna see pictures of that omnibus! :D

[mikedelaney16]

Sims, schmims, I wanna see pictures of that omnibus! :D
Could you define omnibus in this context?

[Greg]

Could you define omnibus in this context?

Yup:

I have been busy, with an 8 ton motor omnibus in the last 2 days. Very sleepy last night.
But, the heavy work of cutting the roof off, lifting it up 12 inches, fabricating the new support columns and then re-welding it all together. Done. We started Sunday, walked out of the work shop at just before 5.00 pm, 2 1\2 hours ago. Now comes the frou-frou. The fit out as a mobile kitchen for the up coming harvest.
An MAN tour coach, 36 feet long, chopped, cut and shut, like a hot rod shop, 2 days, just like that.:) Started re-skinning this afternoon.:p Weary again now.


Does that sound cool or what? :D

[mikedelaney16]

Heh! I read it and didn't see it. I must have lost my mind, let me know if any of you find it, it's kinda like a giant walnut.

[shorty943]

Sims, schmims, I wanna see pictures of that omnibus! :D

Okey Dokey, photo's of one mid-conversion of an MAN motor-omnibus.



We started with this. A former local passenger transit coach. Then came the hacking and the cutting, and the lifting of the roof. That went well I think.:asking06: :confused:

Note to self. Next time, I'll do the rigging up.


But, by Monday evening, the roof was sitting back on its new support columns, and I had begun stitching it all back together. The front end windows had been removed and bracing fitted, and the brand new skin in galvanised sheet was being refitted by yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. Today was filled with ensuring all welds are to standard, flushing down ready to reskin the rear end, and fabricating up new window frames for the rear end.

Oops, back soon, forgot to tell Gimp to save in the correct file format.:booboo:

[shorty943]

Okay, that didn't take long. About 2 days, and we had done this. We only raised the rear roof section 12 inches. That way we could leave the original air conditioning system in place.
Now comes the reskin, and fit the hopper windows, the top sections of the removed standard windows, back into the raised rear section. Which will be the kitchen section, the original front, or more correctly, mid section is to be the "store front".

Once the engineering is complete, I step back, and let "she who must be obeyed", take charge of the "frou-frou".

All nice shiny new IKEA appliances, stainless steel splash backs. To be re-painted in burgandy red. Flash as Michael Jackson, to feed hungry grain carters during the rush of harvest season.

The bloke in red is Nifty, the owner and my Landlord, I'm the one supervising, as my status is project engineer.:p

[Miros1]

I assume the inadvertant lowering of the roof is the reason you said you were going to do the lifting next time?

[mikedelaney16]

Is there a technical reason for raising the roof?

[Miros1]

I would assume that either the cooks or the kitchen appliances were too tall for the original configuration.

[shorty943]

Yep, spot on the money, Lady M. A little more headroom and space is the main reason for the lift.
With fresh potable water tankage, grey water waste storage, gas bottles and kitchen hot water services, generators and airconditioning. This has to be entirely self contained and serviced, not at all unlike a ship at sea, or even the space shuttle. It will be operating out of town, at silo and grain storage facilities, basically, out in a paddock. To feed hungry truckers and farmers, who work round the clock for about 3 months to get the harvest in.

So the rear floor has been raised to provide room for tanks, the rear passenger door has been removed and will be boxed in to provide space for tanks and gas bottles. And, at 5 foot 6 inches, even I could not stand up in the rear end any more, we had to raise the roof.
And we had a bit of fun doing it. Wee, look out its crashing, etc.
Luckily, none of us are strangers to this sort of thing, so we were well clear when the final lift proved a little askew.
After that, it was just a matter of a couple of strong backs, drop the new support columns into place, and line up the roof again. She dropped on beautifully once I had leveled it up properly. A couple of string lines to help keep it true, and start to weld it all back together. Easy.

[mikedelaney16]

Ok, I was thinking like a city boy, where the bus can go back to base every night for fresh supplies and cleaning. I keep forgetting you guys don't measure farm sizes in acres, hectares or even square miles, but hundreds or thousands of square miles.

[shorty943]

You got it.:wink2: Although this area is smaller farm sizes of only a couple of hundred thousand acres per farm. Further north is the pastoral grazing land, with the big station properties. But they don't crop, too far out of the rainfall line.
About 100 years ago, a state surveyor by the name of Goyder, ran around checking rainfall. Some 80 miles north of my location the rainfall gets down below a reliable 11 inches per year, even we can't farm that. Known as Goyders line, we crop south of the line, and graze north of it. And we crop cereal grains, at a rainfall of about 18 inches per year here.
South Australia, the driest state, in the driest continent, on the planet. And the Mallee is actually the seabed of an ancient shallow tropical sea. Huge lumps of limestone that are massive plates of fossil coral, rocks that turn out to be huge fossilized giant clam shells. It is a remarkable region.

[shorty943]

Wouldn't you know it. There has been a set back in the IOU thing again.

Person in question, had a motorcar accident on Sunday afternoon. Can't leave a single mother and two kids stranded now can I.
So now, I have no transport, I have been waiting for this loan to be repaid so I can get a new engine for my Land Rover, no money, and not much humour left either.

Que Sera.

[Greg]

Is irrigation an option? There's a big ol' river there that doesn't seem to be doing much other than decreasing the salinity of the ocean. :D

[shorty943]

Irrigation?:asking06: :confused:

[Miros1]

That's where the people upstream spray the river water all over their land so the people downstream don't have any.

[Greg]

It's what feeds 90% of the people in the world.

[shorty943]

Big problem with old river. One hundred years of European thinking, has almost killed that river. Irrigation run off drains back into the river, some drains are seven times saltier than the ocean. Old river is very sick.
What the settlers didn't realise was the nature of the area. The native trees are deep rooted, help keep the water table salt levels down. Settlers cleared the land for crops and livestock, the water table salt has been rising ever since. Today in low lying areas you can almost watch the salt crystalise before your eyes on a summer day.

[Greg]

Aw darn. Runoff can be fixed, but salty soil is a whole different kind of problem.

[shorty943]

Oh yeah. Lots of deep holes, bored all over the place, and saline run off is pumped deep underground in what is called salt interdiction, by the public servants.
I call it salinating the artesian basins.

On the bright side. I am now sitting at my "new" computer.
An ex-government refurbished Acer Veriton 5200. P4 at 1.6 Ghz, 512 Mb of RAM, SIS AGP card with no vertex shaders etc, (but that will be swapped out for an nVidea 5500 next week) and a tiny 20 Gb hard disk, also to be augmented with the windows drives from the 64 bit Athlon. That machine now becomes my Linux only machine now.
Yeehaa, Network play time again. With Apache and Samba and all them other tech toys.

[Greg]

*blink* What is a vertex shader and why would I care if I had one? :thinking:

[mikedelaney16]

Among other things, you need shaders enabled to see fish in the aquariums and/or fish in the ponds.

[Miros1]

And since Bernadette is fish-obsessed, Greg must have them...

[Sita]

hey I got some good news!

Hubby's brain scan was clear, "normal" whatever that means.
We had reason to worry, it has been a completely bonkers summer and he has certainly been very unwell. So big relief there.

[Miros1]

Cheer! Glad someone's got good news!

[Greg]

Wow! That's great news, Sita! Hey, I'll take "normal" no matter what it means! :)

[Zenmistress]

:blob7: Good to hear, Sita! I guess having a normal brain is better than an abnormal brain. I'm glad the news was good!

[Sita]

He has never been normal! But yes it is reassuring. Now I know he is "just" crazy, instead of its being caused by some nasty illness. (Not a joke - it has been a LOOONG hard summer).

[Greg]

Normalcy... it's a difficult concept. :thinking:

[shorty943]

Normalcy... it's a difficult concept. :thinking:

My Oxford English Dictionary defines normal as ordinary. If that helps.


Good news, Sita. You married a normal man.:p

We are getting along with the bus. Most of the new skin is now in place, we even have the step up in the roof filled in. Now is just the cleaning up and paint her.

[Greg]

Neat! Are you sheathing it in galvanized steel?

[shorty943]

Cheapest and most corrosion resistant method. The gaping holes betwixt wall and roof no longer exist. After much to-ing and fro-ing, I managed to place a pair of truck load binders and 2 lengths of angle iron, just so. (This is turning out to be a mainly, single handed effort, the owner is away driving most time, and the "hired help" is better of out of my way). A little ratcheting down and lots of riveting later, Roof is now back in place, and a pair of "dodgers" are fitted, above the re-fitted hopper windows, to give a little more weather protection to the seals.

Note to self.
Take photo's before the job is finished, idiot.:)

No. worries, lots of rivets to put in yet. LOTS of rivets.
I'm going to need more of this :grilledcheese: .


After the fitting of electrical and plumbing services, in goes the 2 inch "Rockwool" insulation, and "Melamine" fire retardant interior lining. The outside gets pickled, by a simple wipe down with common or garden variety vinegar, then "Killrust" painted exterior. All shiny and bling.

Now the fun starts back on the inside.:confused: Greg knows exactly what I mean. It has to carry everything it could need to be self sufficient, and not one tiny piece is allowed to poke out where it can hurt a precious human person.:angel12:

Yep, the major structural changes were easy.
Now, now the real fun starts.:p
Now, I have to listen to "she who must be obeyed".:laugh:

Well, she is the cook, she must be happy in her galley.:imnotworthy-1:

[Miros1]

Well, the "hired helpless" can at least hold stuff for you while you do the real work...

[shorty943]

Well, the "hired helpless" can at least hold stuff for you while you do the real work...



:laugh: :laugh: I wish.

Honestly, ever since they abolished the whip, you just can't get good press gangers any more. Ain't nothin like a "cat", to instill a good work ethic in a lubber.:laugh:
All nine lashes, with, Admiralty Pattern Blood Knots, tied into the ends. Not joking about that part, the cats lashes had a special knot called the Blood Knot tied in the ends.

[Miros1]

Aren't I lucky that Secondaries-to-the-Goddess don't need beating?

[shorty943]

Been around long enough to know the rules.

[Greg]

Eeek! Blood and grue at the bus manufacturey! :eek:

[shorty943]

Yes, and I broke a finger nail, and stubbed my toe as well.
The "hired help" is a troublesome teenager, who has been sent home from school, more times than he has been sent to school this year. A really big kid for his 13 year, almost 6 feet tall already, and with an attitude a mile wide. Stands over and bullies his mother, ooh, what I would do to that punk if he was 18.


Good news.

1, as of last night, I am at least half way paid back. Yippee, now I can start seriously looking for a replacement engine for my beloved old Land Rover.

2, I have now got my "new" windows machine up and running. (The fun I had chasing down a simple VGA gender bender, to set up this KVM switch). Puter is an ex-government refurbished Pentium4 1.6 Ghz thingy, in an Acer branded, now black painted case. (everything else is black and silver)
But it runs XP Pro SP2, so yippee there. Next is a video card upgrade, for my Linux box, then this machine gets the Nvidea 5500 card that resides in the Linux box now. Test drive Live for Speed, if all goes well there, the next is to re-install Sims 2.

[Greg]

I knew that somehow it would all lead to an improved standard of living for the simmies!

[shorty943]

News item I have just finished watching.

She may be up for sale.
The very last, absolutely original Aussie Ford Bathurst "Shaker".
One owner, genuine. He hates even washing it too often, in case he hurts the paint. She is a genuine Ford factory production race car, that won the "Great Race", the Bathurst 500 Mile race back in 1971, has a genuine 48,000 miles on the clock.
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Porsche dealer has offered 4 top range high performance cars, for a straight swap trade.
$1,000,000 will get you the worlds fastest, (in 1971) 4 door family sedan. That very car, silver with orange trim, was clocked at 148 MPH, Easter 1971.

I shall now go find picture.

Or a link or two, to specs pages.

http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/car_info_ford_falcon_xy_gt.htm
http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/ford_falcon_xy_gthoiii_technical_specifications.ht m

[Greg]

Neat! Maybe if I save my pennies for the next two thousand years... :thinking:

[shorty943]

The man was offered 4 brand spanking new top of the range Porsche's, drove home again in his 35 year old Ford.:lol:

The Shaker is just some car.